What is an MMORPG?
MMORPG is the short term for “Massive(ly) multiplayer online role-playing game”. It is a genre of online role-playing games (RPG or ORPG) for video and computer in which a very large number of players interact with one another in a virtual world over the internet. Some of the MMORPG games have Player versus Player (PvP) options.
As in all RPGs, players assume the role of a fictional character and control the character’s actions, called ‘role-playing’. Players even get into their roles during communication with others online and continuously pretend to be and speak as the ‘warlock’, ‘dwarf’, ‘elf’ or other role they have chosen, much as if they were experiencing a fantasy novel in real-time. The fictional characters are mostly of the fantasy world and place names that sound as if taken from the Lord of the Rings book series or other fantasy literature are the norm.
In the virtual world, players also travel routes to different cities, places and towns whilst ‘leveling-up’ their characters. Leveling-up is a term used by the online players which is the action of the character becoming a higher, more powerful role-player whilst playing through specific regions, places or cities within the game and gathering ‘points’ and even ‘virtual’ money to buy equipment and armor to suit their character.
MMORPGs are distinguished from single-player or small multi-player RPGs by the sheer quantity of online role-players (therefore called ‘massively multi-player’), and by the game’s continuously existing world. The games are typically hosted by the game’s publisher and therefore require internet connection; one cannot play an MMORPG game without connecting to the internet. MMORPG games continue to exist and evolve while the role-player is away from the game or their computer.
MMORPGs are very popular throughout the world, with combined global memberships in subscription and non-subscription games exceeding 15 million as of 2006.
Of the largest MMORPG games worldwide, the World of Warcraft (WoW), Everquest, and Guild Wars are perhaps the most popular. WoW was featured in an episode of the popular television series South Park which strengthened some public opinion that online role-players live in a world of their own to a negative degree which degenerates their real life situations.
A recent study completed by the Trent University has reported that, contrary to public opinion, online role-playing gamers as far from asocial characters as previously thought to be and quite the opposite, close true friendships and even partnerships online which are more lasting and deeper than real-world relationships. It has been demonstrated that even amongst partners and family, they share a dedicated co-existence.
Players have been known to expand their online friendships out into the ‘real world’ in the sense that players have met in real life and continued new, deep and rewarding relationships.
Since the millennium, MMORPGs began to attract the attention of the psychology and economics academia and non-gaming publications. Both positive and negative reactions are common.
Some MMORPGs have developed sophisticated economies with equipment, currency, and characters. All have been exchanged online for real money - a step from the ‘virtual’ into the real-world. Many earn a living online by selling characters, currencies and special equipment to other players. As a result, the study of “synthetic economies” has evolved.
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